Colourful building complex

One of the most economical office blocks in Germany, designed by Berlin architects Sauerbruch & Hutton, has been erected in Dessau. The German government, which commissioned the building, stipulated clear specifications for the new premises. The main items on the list were that the building had to comply with higher ecological requirements and be designed to meet the requirements for disabled people. "The new building for the National Environment Agency is a model of ecological construction" according to a statement by the architect's office.

On what was formerly a piece of wasteland in the vicinity of the main railway station there now stands an imposing, s-shaped, four-storey building offering almost 20,000 m2 office space. The centre of the building houses a public forum and staff atrium under a glazed folding roof. Together with the free-standing cafeteria, the lecture-room and the two refurbished listed buildings, the design as a whole forms an open ensemble in recently landscaped parkland.

GEZE Glass systems set new standardsThe building technology for this highly functional and visually attractive building was supplied by GEZE. The IGG all-glass system has profiles integrated between the glass panes. The individual printed borders provide a flat glass surface – without interfering profiles. This solution meets even the highest design requirements without losing any of its capacity for combination. In the Federal Environment Agency, all the IGG doors have been fitted with the TSA 160 automatic swing door drive. At the main and side entrance, the glass facade is embellished with four double-door systems with a bright ceramic-printed border in each case where the TSA 160 IS allows barrier-free and convenient passage. The closing and opening process is safely monitored by an integrated closing follower regulator and sensor strips. In association with the automatic drives, the TZ 220 KL door control unit monitors the escape doors in the entrance area using the GEZE SecuLogic RWS program. Rapid escape is therefore guaranteed even for disabled people. The cafeteria entrance and numerous single and double interior doors in the lecture-room and office area have also been fitted with the TSA 160 swing door system with its many variants, some in combination with the all-glass variant IGG.

Ventilation power and fume extraction safety systemThe fume and heat extraction system in the cafeteria uses the E 660 chain drive. The drive housings have been painted the same colour as the dark grey ventilation panels and are hardly visible, not least because of their slim shape. The multi-functional E 660 can also be used as a ventilation drive at any time via the actuation button. Throughout the entire building, the office corridor doors have been fitted with the proven TS 5000 door closing system along with the TSA 160 automatic drive system complete. With the variants, TS 5000 IS for double doors and TS 5000 R (- IS) with the integrated fume switch control unit, this classic system is precisely the right choice on the door-closer market for multi-functional use.